Agenda - 03-01-1988 - Laserfiche WebLink

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• 016 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS Action A a Item No.L. ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: MARCH 1, 1988 SUBJECT: PRICING GUIDELINES FOR DAIRY CATTLE DEPARTMENT: COUNTY MANAGER PUBLIC HEARING: Yes X No ATTACHMENT(S) : INFORMATION CONTACT: MANAGER'S OFFICE,X501 NONE TELEPHONE NUMBER: Hillsborough - 732-8181 Chapel Hill - 968-4501 Mebane - 227-2031 Durham - 688-7331 PURPOSE: To receive report on pricing of dairy cattle. BACKGROUND: Effective January 1, 1988 the North Carolina General Assembly exempted all inventory from the property tax base. Inventory is defined as any tangible personal property held for the purpose of sale. Under this definition, all cattle held for the purpose of sale is exempt from taxation. Dairy cattle (held for the production of milk) are taxable because they fall under the classification of manufacturer's equipment. In establishing the value of dairy cattle the selling prices of dairy cattle, not beef or killer cattle (held for the purpose of sale) , were surveyed. Therefore, $900 was esta- blished as the price of dairy cattle. The market clearly indicates the value of a dairy cow in a milking herd is at least $900. After receiving complaints from several dairy farmers, a review of pricing guidelines of several other counties within the state was conducted. Other counties continue to price dairy cattle cattle, for the most part, at killer cattle prices ranging from a low of $120 to a high of $600 per lead. The consensus of the farmers was--cattle averaged between $550 and $600 per head when sold at killer cattle auctions. Any reduction of the value placed on milking cows below $900 can be justified based on the fact that other counties are valuing these cows below market prices. However, this is an issue that should be taken up by the General Assembly.